A Student Art Gallery at Drexel Hillel
Gallery Statement
…Above all, remember that the meaning of life is to build a life as if it were a work of art. You’re not a machine. And you are young. Start working on this great work of art called your own existence.
—Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We want people to feel empowered, inspired, proud, connected, loved, happy, and a sense of belonging. We want to design a gallery with a goal, a purpose-driven art experience that not only connects community within Drexel Hillel, but extends beyond our campus to the global Jewish community.
This is the mission statement we crafted in January 2022, before the world changed and all community efforts shifted to aid Ukraine. Now, our gallery’s goal is clear: promote peace and raise funds through art. Fields of sunflowers, strangers joining forces for a common good, or the ruins of once glorious buildings are the subjects of our work.
Thank you for visiting Drexel Hillel’s first art gallery, we hope you feel a sense of community and will feel called to donate what you can to Hillel International’s Emergency Relief Fund.
Browse the 2022 Drexel Hillel Art Fellows’ work below! More artwork will be added soon.
Elliot Dickman ’23
A lot of people think that art has to look like something recognizable, that it has to represent something real. I don’t believe that art has to be representational. I’m interested in creating art that is procedurally generated and data driven. This lets me set design constraints – I can decide what I want a work to look like, and what aesthetic or design rules I want it to follow – while still being able to discover the artwork as it is being created. Much of my work serves as a testament to the power of a strong design philosophy. When you structure color, symmetry, motion, or any other design elements as algorithms, you can create unique and striking works of art without manual oversight.
Andrew Galitzer ’26
My artwork depicts communities, landscapes, and nature in my watercolor-sketch style. While studying in Israel, I developed this technique unifying fine pen and loose watercolor, representing the controllable and uncontrollable elements in life. As taught in the Torah, every person should try to improve the world and give tzedakah, charity. I paint to support nonprofits and spread awareness for impactful causes. From each sale, at least 10% goes directly to villages in Africa, Ukrainian Refugees, or Jewish/Israel charities.
Gila Gershman ’25
I want to trap people, to get their attention with something innocent, something sweet, something cute, and then, as they look closer, they realize something sinister and scary. I want to force them to think about the realities of the world, and to walk away confused and disturbed, but shaken in awe. The purpose of my art is to question what is real and what is a rose-colored lie we choose to believe because it helps us sleep at night.
Eli Goldberg ’26
I like to reinvent my reality through my art. Growing up, my reality felt isolating, being one of the only Jewish kids at school and one of the only gay kids in town. Through creating, I was able to shape the person I am and shape the reality around me. My art propels me to new places and pushes me to explore and convey my own experiences.
Madelyn Simon ’22
My goal with my art is to instill a sense of joy and awe in everyone who interacts with my art. As someone who strives to inspire others, I allow others to inspire me and that inspiration flows right into my work. Textiles bring texture and life to an art piece. I use textiles to bring a sense of comfort and interaction with my artwork.
Dan Soslowsky ’25
The goal of my art for this gallery is to share my feelings with others and present them in a way that people can relate to or find meaning in. For each piece, I start by brainstorming what emotions or experiences I associate with community and with Judaism. Then, either creating traditional art with pencils, pens, and markers, or digitally, I try to figure out how to present those ideas through imagery.
